[wdvltalk] open source story

2007-12-22 Thread joseph harris
I'm sure you've all seen this, but not so sure that I'm not 
giving the link ;-).


http://www.news.com/2008-1082_3-5065859.html

It is about Sterling Ball and his run in with M$..

Joseph Harris 



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[wdvltalk] Linux Server - Help Getting Started

2007-12-22 Thread Todd Richards
Hi Everyone -

I'm going to put together my first Linux server, for testing purposes now
but possibly more later.  I currently host and manage 10 Windows 2003
servers, so Windows is my thing.  Linux, on the other hand, is not.  

I've looked at the various distros out there and am not sure which would be
the best one for me to start out with.  My plan at this point is only to run
the server as a web box, so I will want Apache, MySQL, and PHP enabled right
away.  Later, possibly RoR.  And even later, I might possibly incorporate
Linux servers into our network.

I've done a fair amount of searching on Google, and there is plenty of
information - but it is all different (use this, do that, etc).  I have
downloaded the latest versions of Fedora, Ubuntu, and now openSUSE.  Now I
just need to figure out which one I'm going with.  

Based on past experiences, if anyone has any suggestions on how to get
started, I would appreciate it!

Thanks!

Todd


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Re: [wdvltalk] Linux Server - Help Getting Started

2007-12-22 Thread Matthew Macdonald-Wallace
Todd,

/me fires up into this is what I do for a living mode and starts  
typing - this could be a long message... :o)

The quick answer:

If you want to use Linux and just want a solution that works, use  
Ubuntu.  If you want a server that will be familiar with a large  
amount of the industry, use either Fedora or CentOS.  If you want to  
_learn_ Linux, use Gentoo.  If you want to support Microsoft and use  
Linux at the same time, use SuSE. [0]

The long(er) answer:

Ubuntu is a fantastic product.  As a desktop operating system, I would  
use it in place of Windows any day of the week.  It is stable, secure,  
compatible, easy to setup and use (just ask a number of my  
non-IT-Literate friends and my Dad!) and there is a huge amount of  
support available either through the forums or mailing lists similar  
to this one.  As a server O/S, I have my reservations (customising PHP  
to work using nuSOAP instead of the built in libs is a PITA) however  
the fact that the install program on the server CD has a check box  
that automatically installs LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySql and PHP) is a  
definate winner.  Administration is also easy and there are many, many  
tools to help you.  As it is based on Debian, any script that is  
written for Debian to ease Admin (and there are thousands out there!)  
should work on Ubuntu.

Fedora and CentOS appear to be industry standards as they are based on  
RedHat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) - CentOS is effectively a completely  
free copy with the branding removed!  They are secure, reliable and  
free just like Ubuntu, although I've never got the hang of the RedHat  
Base Layout [1].

Gentoo is a nightmare to setup the first time you run it.  It can take  
anywhere up to a week to get a server completely installed and  
configured.  If you do a Stage One installation, you need to compile  
the compiler(!) however as a learning process, it is invaluable.  You  
will learn more about using and configuring Linux from using Gentoo  
than just about any other Linux distribution.

SuSE is a nightmare to upgrade.  Moving from 10.2 to 10.3 requires a  
complete system re-install.  Compare this with Ubuntu where you just  
type apt-get dist-upgrade from the command line, Fedora/CentOS which  
have a similar upgrade path and Gentoo which is always the latest  
version and you can see why I'll say no more about what is otherwise a  
very good distribution.

Out of the above, I would recommend Ubuntu or RedHat (Fedora/CentOS)  
for a production environment if you need it to be quick and easy.  The  
reason that Ubuntu and RHEL clones are so quick to update is that the  
software you insatll is pre-comiled, just like Windows installs, so it  
is very quick although probably not optimised for your system.

If you want to know exactly what is on your system and have it  
optimised for best possible performance, use Gentoo.  It does not have  
the corporate backing in the same way that RedHat/Ubuntu have, however  
the Gentoo community are excellent for support and a number of Linux  
Consultancies know Gentoo.  Gentoo is source-based.  When you  
install software (which is as easy as typing emerge -av  
package-name) it downloads the source code and then compiles it  
against the options that you have set meaning it is truely tailored to  
your machine.  A number of Datacentres that I have worked with use  
Gentoo for exactly this reason - it may take a few days to get to the  
perfect server, but it's worth it to know that it is fully tuned to  
your hardware.

If you want any further help, let me know and I'll do what I can, I  
guess the main advice is don't be put off by not having a mouse.  It  
really is amazing what you can achieve with a command-line and a text  
editor under Linux!

Cheers,

Matt.

[0] There's been an number of questions raised as to just how  
impartial SuSE/Novell are when it comes to software patents etc, just  
google for it!

[1] The way in which the directories are laid out on the system

Quoting Todd Richards [EMAIL PROTECTED]:

 Hi Everyone -

 I'm going to put together my first Linux server, for testing purposes now
 but possibly more later.  I currently host and manage 10 Windows 2003
 servers, so Windows is my thing.  Linux, on the other hand, is not.

 I've looked at the various distros out there and am not sure which would be
 the best one for me to start out with.  My plan at this point is only to run
 the server as a web box, so I will want Apache, MySQL, and PHP enabled right
 away.  Later, possibly RoR.  And even later, I might possibly incorporate
 Linux servers into our network.

 I've done a fair amount of searching on Google, and there is plenty of
 information - but it is all different (use this, do that, etc).  I have
 downloaded the latest versions of Fedora, Ubuntu, and now openSUSE.  Now I
 just need to figure out which one I'm going with.

 Based on past experiences, if anyone has any suggestions on how to get
 started, I would 

RE: [wdvltalk] Linux Server - Help Getting Started

2007-12-22 Thread Todd Richards
Hi Matt -

Thanks so much for the detailed reply.  I actually loaded both Fedora and
Ubuntu onto different systems to check them out (apparently I didn't have
enough to do!).  Fedora is slick, and I would be open to looking at it for
using day-to-day.  Very easy to get around in, and the system I put it on
(nothing spectacular) handled it with ease.  I had planned to use that for
the LAMP setup, but after installing and such, wasn't sure how good of an
idea it was.

Next was Ubuntu.  I put it on an older P3 800Mhz system (with a SCSI OS
drive and 2GB RAM).  From what I could see during loading it just flew.
However, when it in finished installing and booted up, I looked at the
command line for about 5 minutes thinking to myself If I just wait and
watch it, maybe it will do something.  HA  Obviously I understand the use
of command lines, but not how to use them.  So the learning curve in my eyes
just took a 90 straight up.

I had heard that SuSE was good for M$ people and I have it downloaded, but
not installed yet.  However, upgrading is important to me.  So if it becomes
a PITA and risks data, then that isn't worth it to me either.

Again, I appreciate your feedback and will investigate Fedora and Ubuntu a
little more.

Thanks!

Todd


-Original Message-
From: Matthew Macdonald-Wallace [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Sent: Saturday, December 22, 2007 11:25 AM
To: wdvltalk@lists.wdvl.com; Todd Richards
Subject: Re: [wdvltalk] Linux Server - Help Getting Started

Todd,

/me fires up into this is what I do for a living mode and starts  
typing - this could be a long message... :o)

The quick answer:

If you want to use Linux and just want a solution that works, use  
Ubuntu.  If you want a server that will be familiar with a large  
amount of the industry, use either Fedora or CentOS.  If you want to  
_learn_ Linux, use Gentoo.  If you want to support Microsoft and use  
Linux at the same time, use SuSE. [0]

The long(er) answer:

Ubuntu is a fantastic product.  As a desktop operating system, I would  
use it in place of Windows any day of the week.  It is stable, secure,  
compatible, easy to setup and use (just ask a number of my  
non-IT-Literate friends and my Dad!) and there is a huge amount of  
support available either through the forums or mailing lists similar  
to this one.  As a server O/S, I have my reservations (customising PHP  
to work using nuSOAP instead of the built in libs is a PITA) however  
the fact that the install program on the server CD has a check box  
that automatically installs LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySql and PHP) is a  
definate winner.  Administration is also easy and there are many, many  
tools to help you.  As it is based on Debian, any script that is  
written for Debian to ease Admin (and there are thousands out there!)  
should work on Ubuntu.

Fedora and CentOS appear to be industry standards as they are based on  
RedHat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) - CentOS is effectively a completely  
free copy with the branding removed!  They are secure, reliable and  
free just like Ubuntu, although I've never got the hang of the RedHat  
Base Layout [1].

Gentoo is a nightmare to setup the first time you run it.  It can take  
anywhere up to a week to get a server completely installed and  
configured.  If you do a Stage One installation, you need to compile  
the compiler(!) however as a learning process, it is invaluable.  You  
will learn more about using and configuring Linux from using Gentoo  
than just about any other Linux distribution.

SuSE is a nightmare to upgrade.  Moving from 10.2 to 10.3 requires a  
complete system re-install.  Compare this with Ubuntu where you just  
type apt-get dist-upgrade from the command line, Fedora/CentOS which  
have a similar upgrade path and Gentoo which is always the latest  
version and you can see why I'll say no more about what is otherwise a  
very good distribution.

Out of the above, I would recommend Ubuntu or RedHat (Fedora/CentOS)  
for a production environment if you need it to be quick and easy.  The  
reason that Ubuntu and RHEL clones are so quick to update is that the  
software you insatll is pre-comiled, just like Windows installs, so it  
is very quick although probably not optimised for your system.

If you want to know exactly what is on your system and have it  
optimised for best possible performance, use Gentoo.  It does not have  
the corporate backing in the same way that RedHat/Ubuntu have, however  
the Gentoo community are excellent for support and a number of Linux  
Consultancies know Gentoo.  Gentoo is source-based.  When you  
install software (which is as easy as typing emerge -av  
package-name) it downloads the source code and then compiles it  
against the options that you have set meaning it is truely tailored to  
your machine.  A number of Datacentres that I have worked with use  
Gentoo for exactly this reason - it may take a few days to get to the  
perfect server, but it's worth it to know that 

Re: [wdvltalk] Linux Server - Help Getting Started

2007-12-22 Thread Hassan Schroeder
On Dec 22, 2007 9:59 AM, Todd Richards [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

You got good info from Mathew, but I'll offer a different perspective :-)

 However, upgrading is important to me.

Why? I use various versions of *nix, and other than security patches,
really don't care how current they are.

The main reason is that they're only a platform for the important
stuff, the apps I need to run, and I *never* use a package manager
for those.

The main reason for that is all package managers I've seen assume
you only want to run *one* version of, say, Apache httpd on your
system. That's not true for me, either in development/testing mode,
or production. So all the apps are installed from source or from a
tar file binary, so I run multiple versions in parallel e.g. something
like
  /usr/local/apache-httpd-2.2.4
  /usr/local/apache-httpd-2.2.6-PHP
  /usr/local/apache-httpd-2.2.6-proxy

and so on.

It also means I have identical file system layouts in dev and production
no matter what distros are involved.

YMMV,
-- 
Hassan Schroeder  [EMAIL PROTECTED]

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